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The Department of Housing and Urban Development offers two primary programs designed to provide affordable rental housing to low-income families. HUD's public housing and Section 8 programs use federal subsidies to achieve this goal. Through Section 8, HUD pays private market landlords the portion of a low-income household's rent that exceeds 30 percent of its income. Rents in public housing units are set at rates that are affordable to families earning considerably less than their area's median.

Income Eligibility

Income is the main eligibility consideration for public housing and Section 8. Public housing residents cannot make more than 80 percent of their area's median income. The cutoff for Section 8 eligibility sits at 50 percent of an area's median income, as of 2010. HUD uses Census and American Community Survey data to calculate income figures annually, which are locally adjusted based on family size. For example, a three-person household earning $94,850 is at 80 percent of San Francisco's median income. In the less- affluent central California county of Fresno, that 80 percent figure drops to $43,150.

Availability and Waitlists

Just because a renter qualifies based on HUD's general guidelines does not mean he will secure housing in his local area. HUD permits local housing authorities to set their own preferences. As HUD explains, public housing and Section 8 waiting lists are long, and even closed in some places, particularly throughout the Bay Area. As a result, some housing authorities give preference to the neediest. HUD points out that this sometimes includes the homeless, people living in poor-quality housing and families spending more than half their earnings on housing costs.

Family Size and Characteristics

Local housing authorities determine and verify public housing and Section 8 income eligibility by requiring applicants to provide various forms of documentation. For both programs, prospective renters must prove their family composition and income. HUD asks for documents such as birth certificates and tax returns as well as employer and banking information.

Citizenship/Immigration Status

HUD's Section 8 and public housing programs require that applicants be U.S. citizens or hold an "eligible immigration status," according to the program's websites. Eligible immigration status includes resident aliens, who are commonly referred to as "green card holders."

About the Author

As a writer since 2002, Rocco Pendola has published numerous academic and popular articles in addition to working as a freelance grant writer and researcher. His work has appeared on SFGate and Planetizen and in the journals "Environment & Behavior" and "Health and Place." Pendola has a Bachelor of Arts in urban studies from San Francisco State University.

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Pendola, Rocco. "Qualifications for Renting a House Through HUD." Home Guides | SF Gate, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/qualifications-renting-house-through-hud-3034.html. 20 June 2017.

Pendola, Rocco. (2017, June 20). Qualifications for Renting a House Through HUD. Home Guides | SF Gate. Retrieved from http://homeguides.sfgate.com/qualifications-renting-house-through-hud-3034.html

Pendola, Rocco. "Qualifications for Renting a House Through HUD" last modified June 20, 2017. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/qualifications-renting-house-through-hud-3034.html

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